Section 56 of SICLD Act : Section 56: Penalty For Infringement Of Layout-Design

Explanation using Example

Example Application of Section 56: Imagine a company, TechChip Inc., which designs and manufactures semiconductor chips. An employee of TechChip Inc. knowingly uses a registered layout-design of a competitor, SpeedSemiconductors, without their permission, to produce similar chips and gain a competitive advantage. This action is a wilful contravention of Section 18 of The Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout-Design Act, 2000, which protects registered layout-designs from being copied or used without authorization. As a result, the employee and potentially TechChip Inc. could face criminal charges under Section 56, which may lead to imprisonment of up to three years and/or a fine ranging from fifty thousand to ten lakh rupees.